 "Duleep Trophy: From Ajinkya Rahane to Shreyas Iyer, plenty of Indian players to be in action")
BCCI’s zonal tournament – Duleep Trophy – is back in the domestic calendar after three long years, and several Indian stars will be seen in action over the course of five matches, starting on 8 September. The tournament will inaugurate the domestic calendar for the 2022-23 season and is being played in the inter-zonal format for the first time after 2014-15. The BCCI has also added a new team – North East Zone, besides the five regular zones in North, East, South, West, and Central. Multiple India and IPL stars will be seen in action over the course of three weeks. While the West Zone and South Zone are significantly star-studded, other teams will rely heavily on their domestic talent. The West Zone boasts of maximum Indian players including Ajinkya Rahane – who will also lead the side, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Jaydev Unadkat, and youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal. The South Zone squad also has a significant number of stars, consisting of Captain Hanuma Vihari, Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, and Devdutt Padikkal. Under-19 sensation Yash Dhull, and quick Navdeep Saini will be seen playing for North Zone, while IPL stars Riyan Parag, and Shahbaz Ahmed will be seen for East Zone.
Excitement Levels 🆙 as the Domestic season commences! 👏 👏
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 7, 2022
Just One Sleep Away From #DuleepTrophy! ⌛️ pic.twitter.com/bzd5CwQ5Kq
Considering the first leg of the tournament starting on Thursday, in Chennai and Puducherry, we share insights on several players to watch out for in the tournament. Ajinkya Rahane Ajinkya Rahane will be one of the biggest names at the zonal tournament and the eyes of fans as well as selection officials will be glued to his performance. Rahane last played in the Test series against South Africa in January 2022. Subsequently, he was dropped for the test series against Sri Lanka and the rescheduled test match against England.
Ajinkya Rahane said, "I believe in following my processes. My focus in on Duleep Trophy currently, we'll see what happens in future".
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 7, 2022
Rahane had also continued his poor form in Ranji Trophy during March 2022 and was dismissed for a duck in the last match he played against Odisha. Rahane will have to perform exceptionally well to ensure a place back in the Indian side, with significant competition for his spot in the middle order. In fact, Shreyas Iyer, who replaced him in the Indian team will also be playing alongside in the Duleep Trophy. Shreyas Iyer Shreyas Iyer has shown good signs as a batter in the longest format for India but has failed to be a consistent run-scorer. Iyer was excellent in the two-match home series against Sri Lanka and won the man of the match award in the second match for his twin fifties. Iyer has already hit three half-centuries and one century in five Tests he has played so far and proved his mettle. However, the batter was criticised after falling to the short ball ploy against England in the rescheduled Test in July. While he is expected to get a longer run with the Indian squad, he will have to continue to better other middle-order batters in the domestic setup. Mayank Agarwal The dashing Karnataka opener was in the limelight in recent times but for his performance in the newly set up Karnataka’s Maharaja T20 Trophy. Talking about his form in the longest format, he has found himself in and out of the Indian squad, based on the availability of other openers. He was roped in the Sri Lanka Tests and played both the Tests but managed a total of 59 runs in three innings. However, he has averaged 41.33 in 21 Tests for India. With Rohit Sharma being the all-format captain and KL Rahul assigned to be his deputy, the possibilities of another opener getting a chance are quite low unless one of the two are unavailable. Hence, the current domestic season will prove to be a vital stage for Agarwal to cement his place in the national squad and prove to be a worthy replacement for the senior pros. Hanuma Vihari Hanuma Vihari has proved to be a significant name in the national setup for quite a while now. His leadership skills will come to test as he tries to unlock the next chapter in his cricketing career. While he has not been amongst the runs, he has played some vital innings in the Indian middle order. Vihari moved to Andhra Pradesh in the 2022 Ranji season and was named the captain of the side as well. The right-hander has scored 889 runs in 16 Tests for India at an average of 33.56. However, several of his impactful innings like the one at Brisbane against Australia have increased his stature in the Indian setup.
Always have something to chase 💥 pic.twitter.com/pUHBjsE4xZ
— Shreyas Iyer (@ShreyasIyer15) September 7, 2022
Prithvi Shaw Prithvi Shaw has been like the Indian opener who never was. After getting an opportunity in the Test team in 2018 against West Indies, and also winning the player of the series award, he was banned for eight months after failing a dope test. He did make a comeback in 2020 against New Zealand and Australia, but could only make a half-century in six innings and was dropped henceforth. Shaw was decent in the 2022/23 Ranji season and scored 355 in 10 innings at an average of 35.50. There are no significant chances of him making to the Indian squad in immediate future, but he can surely grab some eyeballs if he is able to perform well. Devdutt Paddikal The 2020/21 Royal Challengers Bangalore sensation is yet to prove himself in the longer format of the game. The southpaw has 1,190 runs at an average of 36.06 in 19 First class games. While he has been inconsistent, a solitary century – 178 runs against Puducherry in the 2022 season brought him up the ranks in the domestic setup. Albeit, with already strong competition in the Indian Test setup for the top order as well as middle order, Paddikal is not expected anytime soon in the national squad. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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